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After more than fifty years of torture, murder, and imprisonment, Fidel Castro has died and most of the world has breathed a collective sigh of relief. In Miami, the large community of exiled Cubans took to the streets, singing ‘he’s gone, he’s gone!’, unable to contain their joy and sheer exultation at the news.

Since his death, there have been some surprisingly flattering sentiments expressed about Castro by certain parties, namely various leaders of the free world. Canadian Prime minister, Justin Trudeau eulogised that the dictator was a ‘larger than life leader and a ‘controversial figure’, who had a ‘tremendous dedication and love for the Cuban people.’ Meanwhile, over in the European Union, Jean Claude Juncker lamented the fact that ‘the world has lost a man who was a hero for many’, and the President of Ireland learned ‘with great sadness of the death of Fidel Castro.’

It is taken for granted in countless ill-informed Facebook memes that the Nordic countries are the happiest, healthiest and most prosperous on earth, and that this is thanks to their huge welfare states,...